


Cliches in Backseats

by supercoollock



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Cassy is sassy, Eventual Smut, F/F, First Date, Fluff and Angst, GSA, Gratuitous Swearing, High School AU, Homophobia, I'll get to that shit don't you fret, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-13
Updated: 2013-03-12
Packaged: 2017-11-29 04:26:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/682741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/supercoollock/pseuds/supercoollock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas' best friend Anna has just moved to New York, leaving him to face a shitty year alone. Then Dean Winchester walks into his econ class, and well, things change.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mr. Hottieness

**Author's Note:**

> High school AU cliches time woohoo! Also blatant Ferris Bueller references. Ok just warning that I've hit a sort of roadblock on this one, and will definitely finish it but don't expect it to be soon. I'm sorry, I don't like long updates but I don't want to rush the end because of writer's block. Sorry guys.

Cas was in a bad mood that was worsened by the fact that it was fucking freezing. He was doing everything he could to delay going inside the school, even though he had definitely not dressed for the crappy weather. Wrapping his dry hands around himself, he wished he had at least brought a hat, or some gloves. He needed a distraction, so he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, and slid one out of the packet. He held it between his fingers as he fiddled with the zipper pull on his leather jacket. It was stuck again due to the fact that the jacket was less than quality. Sighing, he clenched the cigarette in his teeth and fiddled around in his pocket for his lighter. It took around ten tries to light. He cupped his hand around the flame and brought it to his mouth, looking grumpy as possible.

 

So he stood there shivering in the morning cold, cigarette dangling from his fingers. He felt nauseous and tried to decide if it was because he had skipped his usual hearty breakfast of Captain Crunch or if it was because no matter how badass he was trying to look, he knew that today would still be utter shit now that Anna was gone.

 

Her parents had decided to move to New York halfway through the summer, which had the unfortunate consequence of his best and only friend being 19 hours away (he had googled it) and leaving him in one of the shittiest places on earth; Kansas. They still skyped and called each other all the time, but it was definitely not the same as hanging out with her in person. After she left, he quickly realised that he didn’t have any other friends, mostly since everyone he knew were homophobic assholes.

 

With the only person who usually stood between him and him getting punched was gone, he went about making himself un-beat-up-able.  Basically, he bought a leather jacket and started working out. Looking back on it, it wasn’t as impressive as he had initially imagined it to be and someone would definitely shove him into a locker before the day was over.

 

He sighed and stubbed out his cigarette butt with his heel, bracing himself to go inside. Walking in, he shoved his way through the crowd that had formed in front of the list of homerooms. He had econ first, which he took as an omen akin to having a black cat cross his path then flip him off. He traced his finger along the line to see where his locker was. _245_ , he thought to himself, trying to memorise it.

 

As he climbed the stairs to the second floor, he remembered that locker 245 was in the hallway that perpetually smelled like tuna. Awesome.  Due to the fact that he had nobody to greet after the summer, he ended up in econ class early despite his stalling. He shuffled in, attempting to avoid eye contact with all the other losers who showed up early. Just because he was one too didn’t mean he had to like it. He did a quick scan of the room.

 

There was a girl who everyone called buck-toothed Becky, some guy named Buck (or maybe it was Chuck? He couldn’t remember) who was just generally greasy, and some random guy sitting in the front row. He decided to slide into the back row, in a seat furthest from all of them when his teacher raised his head from his book and said, “It’s assigned seating, Castiel. You’re in the third row, right up against the wall.”

 

It was the desk right in front of the one he had originally chosen. Not too bad. He sat down and pulled Animal Farm out of his bag. If he couldn’t be likeable he could at least be well- read. As the class filled up he lifted his head out of his book every so often to see who was coming in. Most of the people seemed ok, not total asshats but not very interesting either. Just bland people, which he could deal with.

 

The bell rang and the class was close to full so the teacher began passing out textbooks and timetables and going through the usual start-of-school-year speech. Hand in your homework, study hard, be considerate, and PLEASE no sex or smoking in the bathrooms. Cas drummed his fingers on his desk and thought about how the heating system in the school was seemingly designed to suck the moisture out of the air. But that’s when something amazing happened: a hot boy walked in the class.

 

He wasn’t just hot by small-town Kansas standards either; he looked like a fucking underwear model. Maybe he was an underwear model, who fucking knew? Anything was possible if something this amazing could happen in Kansas on a Monday. Unable to stop himself from taking at least a quick once-over, he just hoped that he would blend in amongst everyone else giving the guy once-overs. The guy was wearing pretty basic clothes; standard jeans and a henley tee underneath flannel, but it worked on him. His face could have been classified as a work of art. It was made up of a million freckles over tan skin, big green eyes that were a little feminine, and a plush, pouty mouth. Cas had to stop himself from openly drooling.

 

The greek god of econ class ran his hand through his hair and smiled, “Hey, um, sorry I’m late, I had to talk with people at the main office, and then I had to find this class…” He looked around nervously, “This is econ, right? I’m supposed to have it with Mr. Anderson?”

 

“You came to the right place,” Mr. Anderson said monotonously, “Since you’re new, could you introduce yourself to the class?”

 

“Uh, sure. My name’s Dean Winchester, I moved here from Lawrence with my dad and my little brother Sammy. He’s in grade 8. I’m not sure what else I should say…” he trailed off, that articulate bastard. Cas decided the guy could be dry humping a wall and he’d still be hot.

 

“That’s good enough. You can sit down over there,” Mr. Anderson said, and Cas figured out that due to his convoluted seating plan, ‘over there’ meant beside him. He decided then, under the searing glares of all the girls in his class that Mr. Anderson was his favourite teacher.

 

Dean slid into the seat next to Cas’ and flashed a quick grin before facing front, which Cas was grateful for as his cheeks had turned a lovely shade of crimson. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and tried to discretely check if he smelled. You never know, right? Running his hand through his hair, he tried to simultaneously fix his hair and check for pit stains. To this guy, he was probably some gross, sweaty creep. He changed his mind; he now hated Mr. Anderson with a passion that burned deep inside his soul. Fuck you, Mr. Anderson.

 

“ In 1930, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, in an effort to alleviate the effects of the... Anyone? Anyone?... the Great Depression, passed the... Anyone? Anyone? The tariff bill? The Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act? Which, anyone? Raised or lowered?... raised tariffs, in an effort to collect more revenue for the federal government. Did it work? Anyone? Anyone know the effects? It did not work…” Mr. Anderson had apparently decided to start his lesson, and Cas would have preferred if he hadn’t. If this is what he had to look forward to every day; hiding boners in what seemed to be the ninth circle of hell, he was going to go crazy halfway through the semester.

 

He looked around the class and it seemed as if everyone felt the same way. Turning in his chair to face his hot new classmate he tried to think of something intelligent to say and came up with, “H-hey.”

 

“Hey, what’s up?” Dean didn’t seem to mind or notice the nervous stutter.

 

“Uh, not much… just was wondering if you like school so far?” Cas’ brain went into panic mode. It was basically just three thoughts on repeat: damn this boy is hot, better keep this conversation going, and maybe, just maybe he’s gay. Or bi, or pan, or queer or anything but straight.

 

Dean snorted and nodded his head in the direction of Mr. Anderson, “Well if that guy’s any indication, I’m pretty fucked.”

 

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” Cas said, barely focusing on what he was saying.

 

“You know, I’m kind of new here and…” Dean trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. Cas just stared, so Dean went on, “and I could really use someone to show me around? Like to my classes…?”

 

“Um, you mean me?” It was like heaven had blessed today.

 

“No, I mean the guy sitting behind you,” Dean laughed as Cas turned around to check. The guy behind him was eating pencil lead, so he was 99.997 percent sure Dean was joking. Unless he was super into pencils.

 

“Okay,” Cas did a half-smile, hoping to look cool instead of creepy.

 

“Awesome,” Dean said before turning back to the note they were supposed to be taking.

 

Cas tried half-heartedly to focus on his note but kept getting distracted because Mr. Anderson was an awful teacher and Dean Winchester was sitting just inches away. So Cas decided to give in to what he really wanted to do: daydream about hot boys. He wondered what Dean Winchester tasted like, if he kissed like he was racing to third base and had hands that wandered in imaginative ways. Maybe he was the type who got really shy once they got close enough, if he’d lean in and ask if it was okay, giving slow, soft kisses. He wondered if he had a car, and if so, what kind? By the time he had begun thinking about if Dean got facials (because either he had absolutely gorgeous parents or he knew something Cas sure as hell didn’t) the bell had rung and people were leaving for their next class.

 

“Actually Cas, I don’t know if this is too much to ask but,” Dean looked at Cas earnestly, “I’m kind of new to this town too, maybe you could show me around after school or something? Sorry if I’m imposing on plans or something.”

 

Cas was pretty sure that his heart stopped and he barely sputtered out a yes. After pointing Dean in the direction of his next class, he pulled out his shiny new phone (an excessive but much appreciated gift from his brother Gabriel) and texted Anna. Because what’s good news if you can’t share it, right?


	2. Burgers at the Underwater Rodeo Palace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mutual love for burgers and making out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk man I wrote it in a hurry don't judge me or the underwater rodeo palace. Garth's in it?

“Hold on, I still can’t hear you,” Anna practically shouted into her computer’s microphone.

 

            Cas typed to tell her to check her speakers again as he repeated, “Can you hear me now? How about now? Can you hear me now?” for about three minutes before Anna figured out her computer.

 

            She waved at her webcam, mostly to annoy Cas because she knew how much lag it caused on his end the said, “Oh my god Cas, I’ve missed you! It feels like I haven’t seen you in forever!”

 

“It’s only been two days, Anna,” Cas joked sadly, he missed her just as much. It just made it worse to talk about it though, so usually they tried not to.

 

“Still, I miss you, you’re my bestfriend,” Anna said, suddenly smiling “But everyone’s really nice here too, and you know what’s even better? They have an actual GSA here, not just us and a bunch of straight girls who want a gay best friend! You’d love it, you should visit sometime.”

 

“You just got there and you already and you already want me to visit?” Cas replied.

 

“I always want you and your artfully ruffled hair to visit,” Anna stuck out her tongue as Cas raised his hand to his heart in mock offense – but even he had to admit he gave his hair a lot of attention.

 

Anna continued, “But really Cas, it is nice! Like on the first day I was pretty nervous because the school’s so big compared to ours, but it turned out okay! Actually, better than okay. I met this girl in History -” but Cas cut her off.

 

“Speaking of, guess what happened today? New kid, but not just a new kid…” he paused for effect, “a hot one.”

 

“Is that all you’re going to say? Tell me about this mystery hottie!” she didn’t say it explicitly, but he could tell she was glad he was doing okay enough to be talking about hot guys as opposed to something-shitty-happened-today.

 

“He sits beside me in first period class, his name’s Dean and oh, we’re going out tonight in…” he checked his watch, “a couple minutes.”

 

“WHAT? Little Cas has a date? That hasn’t happened since you an…” she trailed off awkwardly, and tried to cover it up unsuccessfully by adding, “the dawn of time itself!”

 

Cas winced inwardly; his previous relationship was a touchy subject. He added, “Well, it’s isn’t exactly a date, it’s just that he’s new in town and he asked me to show him around.’

 

“He asked you, therefore it’s a date. You should ask him to join GSA, it probably sucks without me,” she was obviously glad for him.

 

“Well I would ask him to but,” he paused, knowing she wouldn’t like what he was about to say, “I’m not sure if he’s gay yet…”

 

Anna frowned, “Cas. Closeted guys aren’t worth it. Don’t do it.” He could tell she was worried she would revert back to old habits with her gone.

 

“But I’m pretty sure he is!” he said to reassure her, “And if he isn’t, I promise not to bang.”

 

She laughed, “Okay then. Anyway, the girl in History class actually asked me to join the GSA and we started talking about -” but she was cut off again, this time by the sound of his older brother Gabriel shouting form downstairs.

 

“Cas, did you buy a stripper or something?” Cas’ eyes widened as he realised he probably shouldn’t leave Dean alone with his brother for long. So he quickly said, “Sorry Anna I got to go – Dean’s here!”

 

“Ok bye! Have fun on your not-date!”  Anna shouted as he flipped his laptop closed, and Cas could have sworn she was frowning a little.

 

Cas dashed down the stairs yelling, “Not a stripper!’ as he went. He didn’t want Gabe ruining his chances before the date began, mostly because he seemed to be able to do that perfectly well on his own.

 

When he got to the door, he was facing a mildly uncomfortable Dean and an amused older brother. Not a good combination. He scowled at Gabe, who threw his hands up and gave him an offhand, “Okay, fine,” before walking back to the fridge.

 

Cas gave Dean an apologetic smile and said, “Sorry about that.”

 

“Ah, it’s no problem. Although I hope you weren’t expecting me to strip, because I usually save that for the second time,” Cas wondered if by second time meant second date, and if so did that mean this was the first? “Although I could make an exception,” Dean continued, “Because it would definitely make an impression,” he concluded with a wink.

 

This was totally a date.

 

“Hey, I borrowed my dad’s car.  Check it out, Chevy impala,” Dean said, pointing at the car in the driveway. Light gleamed of every inch of the car’s black surface, and Cas could tell that it was definitely somebody’s baby.

 

“Wow,” was all Cas could manage.

 

 “You don’t like it?” Dean turned to him worriedly.

 

“No, I think it’s gorgeous, I just don’t know that much about cars,” Cas said.

 

Dean let out an audible sigh of relief, “Oh good man, because I can teach you about cars, but I’m afraid if you hate my baby I’m obligated to hate you.”

 

“Okay,” Cas said. One word answers were all that he could manage at the moment.

 

 “Awesome. Where are we going first?” Dean didn’t seem the least bit phased by Cas’ silent staring. Probably used to it.

 

“That depends,” Cas had thought for a while about where to go, so he was hoping that this would pan out, “Do you like burgers?”

 

“Who doesn’t?” Dean grinned.

 

“I like the way you think. Take a left here,” Cas said.

.

“Am I to know where we’re going?”

 

“Nope. It’s a surprise,” one he hoped Dean would like.

 

            The drive there was spent watching Dean’s mouth as he rambled about classic rock (Kansas fucking rocks), his little brother (sweetest kid ever, wants to be a lawyer, crush on some girl named Amelia), and kittens (they’re just so cute, you know?). All he had to do was give one-word answers and stare. The more he listened to him, the more he found himself desperately hoping that Dean was super, super gay.

           

            “Pull up here,” Cas said, pointing to a small building on the left.

 

            “You’re kidding, right?” Dean asked incredulously, but Cas just grinned and watched Dean’s face as he gave the building a once-over. His eyes scanned the restaurant’s faded outdoor bricks; all painted a bold shade of cerulean, which clashed with the thousands of neon signs in the window. But the restaurant’s crowning glory was its main sign: a mermaid clad in a cowboy hat sitting over the words ‘Underwater Rodeo Palace’.

           

            Dean pulled the car into the parking lot, “You ARE just fucking with me, right?”

 

            “I would never,” Cas said as he got out of the car. Dean followed behind him, looking like he had regretted his decision to come with him.

 

As they walked into the Underwater RodeoPalace, Cas could see Dean looking around with a look of confused horror, like someone who accidentally walked into an anime convention. Cas led Dean past the mermaid-with-a-cowboy-hat décor in the lobby and into the kitchen. He gave Dean a tight smile and flagged down a shaggy haired fry cook, “Garth! Over here!’

 

  Garth sauntered over and gripped them both in a loving, unreciprocated hug, “Hey guys, how’s it hanging?” He smiled unnaturally widely as he reached to a brown bag on the counter handing it to Cas, “The you go, my friend.”

 

“Thanks Garth,” Cas said quickly, handing Gath a 20. Honestly, Garth’s hippie, overly-touchy self weirded him out. Garth kissed both Dean and Cas on each cheek, French-style, then they got the hell out of there.

 

“Did we just buy a giant bag of drugs?” Dean asked when they were in the car, “I mean, I’m okay with it, but that is a huge bag and -”

 

“They’re burgers,” Cas said matter-of-factly. He looked at Dean and realised that it needed a little bit more explanation than that, “Strangely enough, they make the best burgers I’ve tasted in my life. However, it’s kind of surreal actually eating in the restaurant, so when this guy – Garth – in my media class said he worked there…”

 

“Oh okay man, that makes sense. Pass me one then, let’s see if they live up to your hype,” Dean said with his arm outstretched.

 

Nothing was said for the rest of the ride except for Cas’ directions to their next destination and Dean rambling through mouthfuls of burger.

 

They ended up at a top of a hill from which they could see what seemed like the entire city. It was both the most cliché and the most romantic place Cas could think of.

           

            They climbed onto the hood of the impala, remainders of their burgers in hand. It was a pretty clear night, and they sat for a while watching the stars wordlessly. After a minute or so, Cas turned to face Dean, who was too absorbed in the stars to notice. His eyes traced what his fingers couldn’t: thick eyelashes, a neck that led to strong – but not bulky – arms, which led to… a hand inches from his own. If Cas was a smooth bastard, he would have just gently slid his hand over Dean’s. But Cas was Cas, so he shifted away, broke the silence and asked, “Is it okay if I smoke?”

 

            “Uh sure, I don’t care,” Dean said.

Cas clambered up the car hood, until he was sitting near the windshield with his legs crossed. Dean watched as Cas pulled his cigarettes and lighter out of his jacket and added, “Didn’t peg you for the type, though.”

 

            Cas looked up, lit cigarette pinched between his fingers, “I don’t have to if you don’t want me to.”

 

            “No, it’s okay,” Dean shifted closer so that he wasdirectly in front of Cas, “I actually think it’s pretty hot.” With that, he placed his hand on Cas’ and leaned in, pressing his lips to Cas’ mouth.

 

            Cas froze and pulled back. Dean did the same in a panic, “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I thought you… just please don’t tell anyone, okay?”

 

            “What? No, sorry!” Cas grabbed Dean’s shoulder, “No, stay here, I do like you, I was just a little shocked.”

 

            Dean blushed and mumbled a, “Sorry.”

 

            “No don’t be, it was a good kind of shocking,” Cas said, and it definitely was, although the ‘don’t tell anyone’ did hang in the back of his mind, “Are you not out yet or something?” Please say no, please say no, please say no, please say –

 

            “Yeah,” Dean nodded.

 

            Cas placed a soft kiss on Dean’s lips, “That’s okay,” Considering Cas’ track record, dating closeted guys was actually very, very not okay.

 

            “So,” he took a long drag on his cigarette, “You think this is hot?”

           

            Dean seemed to regain his confidence, “Nah man,” he joked, “bet you taste like an ashtray.”

 

            Cas leaned back, tilting his head up and blowing out a stream of smoke, taking time to watch it billow against the night sky.  He grinned unusually wickedly and said, “Come and find out.” It was fantastic, but - even though he wouldn’t admit it – it gave him a sinking sense of déjà vu. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the next one will be kinda/sorta/maybe better...thanks for reading though


	3. Trouble in Paradise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It had to happen sometime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this took longer than usual to put up, so to make up for it I made it extra long! (also to make up for the subject matter...poor Cas)

 

            They had been dating for a couple of weeks, and Cas couldn’t believe it was true. He was Dean Winchester’s boyfriend. He was the one who he called much too late at night, just to mumble about school, kissing, and next times.  He was the one who Dean chose to take long drives through the countryside with, to take to (always out-of-city) restaurants and cinemas, to give tiny hickeys (just underneath his collarbone) to. He was somebody’s somebody, which he had been before, but it felt different this time. Special.

 

            Just one problem: he was somebody’s dirty little secret too, which he had also been before. But it felt so special this time!

 

            Cas was too busy being completely absorbed in his cute new boyfriend to notice. He allowed himself, against his better judgement, to surround himself in Dean Winchester. He willingly surrendered lonely nights at the library to playful make-outs in desolate stacks, switched bribing takeout from Garth to kisses on the hood of the impala. And he could lie to himself all he wanted about taking things slow, that as long as they kept things PG they’d be safe, but in all honesty, he was about as far gone as he could get. And he should have known better.

 

            Instead, they met up every day in an alleyway a couple of blocks away from their school, which was where Cas was headed to. The further he got away from school, the quicker he walked. By the time he got there, he was taking long, fast strides, just holding back from running – but Dean had still beat him there.

 

            His face broke into a grin, “Hey, Cas!” he said. Wrapping his arm around Cas’ lower back, he pulled him closer and planted a series of quick, soft kisses on Cas’ lips.

 

            “Oh shit!” Dean checked his watch, “I have to go pick up Sammy, shit man, I’m sorry!”

 

            “It’s no problem,” Cas smiled. He had never met Dean’s younger brother, but had to admit that the way Dean talked about him was adorable, “Maybe we could hang out later?”

 

            “Yeah sure! I’m free after six, we could go get burgers and hangout,” Dean looked at Cas expectantly. Hangouts and burgers had kind of become their thing.

 

            “Actually, I kind of have this thing for the GSA,” Cas saw Dean freeze and he corrected himself, “No, I’m not asking you to join or anything, I just need somebody to help me…bake some cupcakes.”

 

            Dean smirked, “Bake cupcakes? Kind of girly though, yeah?”

 

            “There’s nothing wrong with feminine things,” Cas said matter-of-factly, “besides, each year we do a cupcake sale to raise money so we can buy posters and stuff,” Cas looked up at Dean, hands hanging on the lapels of his coat and giving his best puppy-dog eyes. He was 99 percent sure Dean would say yes.

 

            “Yeah I guess so… See you at six,” Dean said, giving Cas a quick kiss before dashing down the alley. Cas walked home with the most ridiculous grin on his face.

 

            It was 6:25 and Dean was officially late. Cas texted him a second time, hoping he wasn’t being too clingy and wondering if he had said something wrong earlier. Dean wouldn’t get this concerned over cupcakes, right? He rapped his thumbs on the back of his phone, trying to ignore his older brother. Gabriel had found it in himself – he always did – to provide a running commentary.

           

            “Caaas, where’s your boyfriend? I want to meet the little cutie. And maybe threaten him a little,” he paused to pour a bag of skittles into his mouth, “just a little though. Anyways, I don’t like that he’s not punctual. I can talk to him about that, if you’d like.”

 

            Fortunately, the doorbell rang just before Gabe could describe what exactly the talk would entail.

 

            Cas prepared to open the door with a grumpy ‘you’re late’ look, but his grumpiness fell completely flat when he actually saw Dean, who bounded through the door with a ready kiss and explanation about how long it took to drive his little brother to play practice.

 

            “They’re doing West Side Story, isn’t that adorable?” Dean said.

 

            “Completely,” answered Gabe, who was leaning against the wall with a smirk, “what’s less adorable is you making my little brother wait for half an hour.” He shot Dean a blood-curdling glare.

 

            “Oh yeah, I’m sorry about that,” Dean wiped his hand on the back of his pants before holding it out for Gabriel to shake, “You must be Gabriel.”

 

            “I am,” Gabe said, completely ignoring Dean’s hand, “Don’t make him wait again.” With that, he turned around and left, dumping a handful of skittles into his mouth as he went.

 

            Dean shot Cas a terrified look. Cas laughed and replied, “Don’t mind him; he’s always wanted to do that.”

 

            “That doesn’t make him any less terrifying. I’m not exactly good with parents…or super protective older brothers,” he said, making Cas laugh again, “yo, you are not reassuring me here.”

 

            “I promise you he’s joking,” Cas paused for effect, “mostly.”

 

            Dean held up his hands as if he had surrendered to his fate, “Whatever man, just lead me to the cupcakes.”

 

            “Well, they’re mostly milk and eggs right now, but…”Cas cleared his throat and waved in the direction of the kitchen, “right this way, your highness.”

 

            “Your highness? I can get used to that…wait. Did you say milk and eggs? Like aren’t there mixes for that?” Dean looked scandalised, “I totally did not sign up for this. I don’t think you want me signed up for this.”

 

            Cas rolled his eyes, “Mixes are expensive. Plus, it’s better without one.”

 

            “I don’t think you know my lack of cooking skill then,” Dean said, “People have died.”

 

            “I’m sure,” Cas said, “If you’re really that concerned, all you’ll have to do is get the ingredients for me, okay?”

 

            “Sounds good to me, Captain,” Dean mimed a salute.

 

            “Hmm, Captain Cas,” he made a face, “Not sure about that one.”

 

            Dean shrugged, “It’s all I got, man. If you want a cooler nickname you’ll have to think of one on your own.”

 

            “Kind of defeats the point of a nickname, though,” Cas said.

 

            Twenty minutes later and Dean was on a quest for vanilla, “You know, this isn’t too bad,” he said from the fridge.

 

            Cas turned around with a grin, “Your masculinity still intact? Also, it’s in the cupboard.” He leaned on the counter, inching towards Dean with batter bowl.

 

            “Completely,” Dean turned around to face Cas, who was ready with a fingertip of batter. He managed to smear a good amount onto Dean’s nose before he could register what Cas was doing.

 

            “You are evil, you know that?” Dean joked, grabbing Cas’ hand. He leant down and placed Cas’ finger in his mouth, licking off the remaining batter much too slowly for Cas’ poor heart. He was pretty sure he was going to faint.

 

            Cas pulled his finger out of Dean’s mouth, “Yeah, because you’re a saint.”

 

            “Never claimed to be,” Dean smirked, leaning down to kiss Cas.

 

            “I AM IN THE NEXT ROOM AND AM NOT APPRECTIATING THE SILENCE THAT’S GOING ON IN YOURS!” Gabriel shouted from the other room. What a fucking cockblock.

 

            “OH SORRY,” Cas yelled through the wall, “WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT WHAT A HUGE ASS YOU ARE!”

 

            “You better not have been!” was the reply. Cas chose to let that one go. He turned to face Dean, only to get a face full of flour.

 

            “That’s for my nose,” Dean said with a wicked grin.

 

            “Then this is for my face,” Cas cracked an egg over Dean’s head. This was war.

 

            Five minutes, two cups of flour, three eggs and one pitcher of Kool-Aid later, and Dean had surrendered, “I give up, I give up, I’m at your mercy. Key word here being mercy.”

 

            Cas threw him a towel, “I guess I’ll show some this time. But next time you’re fucked.”

           

            Dean laughed, “Next time I’ll be ready.”

 

            “Yeah, whatever,” Cas said, glancing at the clock on the stove, “Oh shit man, what time did you say your brother’s practice ends at?”

 

            “Eight, why?” Dean said.

 

            It was 8:22 and Cas was closing the door behind Dean with a shouted, “Bye!”

 

            “So he’s sweet enough,” Gabriel had snuck up behind Cas, “I like him.”

 

            “Which is why you had to threaten him, of course,” Cas replied.

 

            “Well I didn’t get the chance to with your last boyfriend and look how that,” Gabe cut his sentence short as he saw Cas’ face fall, “Oh, shit man. Sorry. I just meant…that you two look very cute together. Yep. Plus, he has a nice car, so good on you bro. Bagging a boyfriend with a sweet ride and all,” he continued jokingly, trying to correct his mistake, “Anyway, he makes you happy and therefore I approve.” Gabe walked away before he could put his foot in his mouth again.

 

            Cas typed out a quick message to Anna saying that he’d tell her all the details of Cupcake Wednesday on Skype the next day, and then went to sleep dreaming of cupcakes and cute boys.

            He was way too tired for this, and in retrospect should not have given the girls full decorating privileges at the meeting two nights ago. There was a giant rainbow arch over the entrance way that read; “Cupcake Wednesday!!!” and streamers were everywhere. So was glitter. Cas did have to admit that their overzealousness was sweet in a way. Honestly, if everyone at this school were more like them he’d be doing fine.

 

            So he set up shop in the hallway, shaking despite the heat. Fucking school needed to figure out how to use a thermostat. He tugged at the hem of his shirt, on which he had written “Buy A Cupcake - Support Your GSA” in rainbow fabric marker. Idly, he wonders if it was actually better to have gone a little overboard this year, like in a we’re-not-afraid-of-you kind of way. He manages a crooked smile as shoves a cupcake out to a group of blonde girls walking by, “Be a cupcake, buy a cupcake!”

 

            One giggles, stops and rummages for change in her pocket, “How much are they?” Her friends follow suit.

 

            First customers of the day. Cas grins, “They’re $1.50,” he says, holding out the change bowl, “Thanks! Have a great day!” The girls wave at him as they walk away, and he could have sworn one said he was cute. Which was a nice compliment even if they kind of missed the point, he guessed.

 

            Just then, Dean walked in the doors. Bag slung over his shoulder, he glanced up at the rainbow banner with a smile and walked over. He dropped $2 into the bowl, grabbed the cupcake from Cas’ outstretched hands, and walked away with a “You look cute, cupcake” and a wink. Cas’ face flushed scarlet. He had the strangest feeling that Cupcake Wednesday was going to work out, or at least be better than last year.

 

He believed that for all of the three seconds it took for him to turn to look across the school lobby. And then he knew Cupcake Wednesday was going to take a dark turn for the worse.

 

            Michael was walking towards him, along with a group of overly-aftershaved football players. Cas cringed in anticipation. Maybe they would ignore him? But then he heard a muttered, ‘fag’ from the group and knew that it wasn’t going to happen. He could deal with that though, they got it out of their system, and they’d just walk on by him and his gay-ass cupcakes…

 

            This time it was Michael who said it, louder this time. Fag. What a fucking fag. Cas grimaced. He had never understood why Michael needed to reaffirm that he was straight every fucking day, almost always by tearing him down. Usually he was able to keep a straight face with most things that came his way, but being called slurs by his ex made him want to break down and cry.

 

            Instead, he shouted a loud, “FUCK YOU!” to their backs as they passed, drawing looks from everyone in the lobby. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Dean freeze as he recognised the voice from down the hall. Everyone was staring at him.

 

            Honestly, Cas hadn’t thought this through very well at all, “Yeah, you want to say that to my face, you homophobic asshole?” He oozed transparent bravado.

 

            “Yeah, I do,” Michael said. Oh shit, “Nobody wants to see that shit, okay?” He started walking over to Cas, who mental process had been reduced to, “oh my god oh my god my god cupcake Wednesday is much much worse now where’s Dean and also is it weird that I’m still a little turned on, no probably not…oh my god yep it’s totally weird.”

 

            “Maybe it’s just you being a fucking bigot,” Cas stared Michael in the eyes, wondering how the hell they had come to this. And also, where the hell was Dean? This was the part where he was supposed to come in and tell Michael to fuck off.

 

            But Michael was not fucking off. Instead, he grabbed Cas by the arm and leaned in, “You aren’t even trying to keep it a secret anymore, are you? I see you and that guy; you aren’t a secret as you think.”

 

            “What, are you going to out him too?” Cas growled, hoping that if he was as menacing as possible he could convince Michael not to. Even if Dean was totally not standing up for him, he still felt the need to protect him.

 

            Michael backtracked, “No, I wouldn’t do -”

 

            Cas cut him off, “Oh right, I forgot you only do things like that to me.”

 

            “That’s not fair, you know I had to do that,” Michael pleaded, still gripping Cas’ arm. People were staring, but they were still speaking low enough that nobody could hear what they were saying.

 

            “Not fair? Are you really saying that to me?” Cas felt sick.

 

            “No, that’s not what I meant, it’s just – it’s just that we were good together, we were -”

 

            Cas cut him off again, barely able to speak through his anger, “Do you honestly fucking think that? Look at what you’re doing to me right now, you asshole.”

 

            “But you -” Michael started.

 

            “I don’t want to hear it. Fuck off and leave me alone,” Cas said, wresting himself from Michael.

 

            Michael walked away with muttered insults, walking down the hall to where a girlfriend was presumably waiting. Cas was left in front of the cupcake stand, shaking with rage and shock. He scanned the crowd, all of whom were trying to figure out what the hell had just happened. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Dean turn and walk away. He had no idea what the fucking hell that was about.

 

            He addressed the crowd, “So with that out of the way, is there anyone who would like to actually buy a cupcake?”

 

            There was some nervous laughter, and some people came forward. At least he would be able to get some revenue for the GSA. All he had to do was make it through the day without crying. He could do it. Probably.

 

The bell rang and Cas near sprinted home. Every twig snapping, every candy wrapper crackling was one of Michael’s friends coming to give him a beat-down. A couple blocks away, he wondered if Michael had talked to his friends, gave them the old, “he’s not worth it,” speech. He felt disgusting, because of the events of the day and because the weather was awful. He heard a car pull up and stop beside him. Shit. He started walking faster, preparing to break into a sprint when he heard a, “Hey, it’s just me Cas, it’s okay.”

 

He turned around to see Dean hanging out of the driver’s side window of the impala, “Hey, I saw what happened today, and then you didn’t meet me after school…I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

 

Cas didn’t know what made him say it, but he did anyways, “You didn’t seem too concerned earlier.”

 

“What? What are you talking about?” Dean got out of the car and walked over.

 

“I’m talking about how you left me to get beat up this morning,” Cas was upset. He knew they weren’t even public, but he felt like Dean could’ve done something. Anything.

 

“What? That guy wouldn’t have done anything in front of a crowd of people like that,” Dean said, ignoring the incredulous noise Cas made and continuing with, “and you were fine on your own…” he ended lamely.

 

“I WAS FINE ON MY OWN? Yeah, I was only being publicly humiliated, no big deal. You know what? Fuck you, and fuck guys like you. Leave me alone,” Cas said, turning to walk away. Dean reached out for Cas’ arm but Cas moved away, “Don’t fucking touch me.”

 

“Look, Cas, I’m sorry,” Dean pleaded at his back, “I regret it, I just froze. If I could go back and interrupt, I would in a heartbeat, okay?”

 

“Well, you didn’t,” Cas said, holding back tears. He had stopped walking, but was still facing away from Dean out of fear that his eyes were red.

 

“Look, I’m fucking sorry, okay? I would never do anything that I thought would hurt you like this, okay?” Dean said, which just made Cas angrier.

 

“You didn’t have to do anything to hurt me. Someone was doing it for you,” Cas’ vision blurred.

 

“Look, I don’t even know what the hell your problem is. You told me that you were used to that kind of shit, I’m not your fucking knight in shining armour,” Dean shouted.

 

“You know what? Fuck off; I never wanted you to be. You just had to be a decent person and you couldn’t even manage that. Go piss off and pick up your brother, you’re going to be late,” tears were streaming down his face now, and he realized the last sentence was a little too polite so he added, “asshole.”

 

“YEAH, I WILL,” Dean yelled, apparently out of comebacks. Cas heard him gun the car motor and drive off.

 

Cas sprinted home. By the time he got home, his head ached from crying and all he wanted to do was sleep. He ran past Gabe, who was watching TV in the living room and went straight upstairs to his bedroom. He flung the door open and felt a plastic plate and something that he assumed was Jell-O hit him on the head. Cas looked down, not really registering what just happened. He was covered in green goo and felt like a contestant on a shitty children’s show. He took a relatively intact chunk off of his shirt and tasted it. Lime. He was covered in lime Jell-O.

 

“GABRIEL WHAT THE FUCK?” he shrieked. This was not something he wanted to deal with right now. Shitty Jell-O icing on an already shitty day. Idly, he wondered why everything that went wrong today was food-related.

 

He heard loud footsteps and laughter, “Yeah man, hilarious, right? And the use of the plastic plate – ingenious after last time, yeah? Yeah, cause this time if it bonks you on the head it’ll just bounce off…Oh my God, lil bro I got you good, can’t wait to see the look on your fa - ”  Gabe stopped in his tracks when he actually did see Cas’ face, which was contorted into a strange mixture of sobbing, anger, and holding back laughter.

 

“Woah Cas, what happened?” Gabe said surprised.

 

“Can I take a shower before we talk about it? Seeing as – again – you thought it would be hilarious to dump Jell-O on me?” Cas laughed a little. Gabe might me an annoying dick sometimes, but he was never deliberately hurtful, which Cas appreciated.

 

Gabe nodded, so Cas walked away, his shoes making little *squish* sounds with every step. He stripped down and stepped into the shower, mulling over how it was even possible for a day to be this shitty. Usually just seeing Michael hitting on some girl was enough to upset him, but having a face-off with him in the middle of the school hallway? And for Michael to have said he missed him? It just brought too many feelings back, all of them ones that made him cringe.

 

Michael and he had made out at a party last year, neither of them remembering until they bumped into each other a week later. They started seeing each other in secret, until they got sloppy about it and someone caught them at another party. Michael claimed Cas had been coming on to him and shoved Cas out of the closet in the worst way possible. Anna was one of the few people who stuck with him through it, helping him form a GSA at the school and buying him lots and lots of pity burgers.

 

So on top of getting into a screaming match with his secret ex (not to mention the reminder that he still wasn’t completely over him, no matter how douchey he was) he got into another less than a day later with his secret boyfriend. Or maybe secret ex-boyfriend now, after that fight.

 

He got out of the shower, still feeling disgusting but absolutely free of Jell-O. After throwing his clothes in the wash and finding new ones he made his way downstairs, where Gabe was waiting with a concerned look on his face. This was not the first time he’d seen Gabe look like this, but it was still a little unsettling.

 

Gabriel listened quietly for a couple minutes, clenching his hands tighter with each word out of Cas’ mouth. He eventually interrupted with, “Do you want me to slash their tires?”

 

“What?! No Gabe, of course not,” Cas said quickly, although he wasn’t very surprised.

 

“What about just one tire? That Dean guy has a really nice car, I could just slash one or two tires and the insurance won’t cover it,” Cas shook his head but Gabe continued, “or I could egg their houses. It would teach them a lesson. Or I could -”

 

“Gabe I don’t want you to do anything to them, okay?” Cas interrupted.

 

“I know, I know. I’m sorry I’m just not good with the whole people-hurting-my-family thing,” Gabe frowned.

 

“Yeah I get it, it’s fine I just needed someone to talk to. You know what?” Cas said, and he was being completely honest, “I’m wiped, I’m just going to go to bed.”

 

Gabe nodded, and Cas trudged upstairs. He knew he had promised to call Anna today, but he decided to just message her the next day about it. He really didn’t think he could handle hearing her concern, even from miles away. It was official: his life was absolute shit.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Comments and tips would be super appreciated, as always. Thanks!

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah it's kinda short, but i wanted to get it up here. So I'll have short chapters but I'll update quickly or something. Also I know I'm not funny but I'm TRYING BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. Hope you enjoyed, and any comments/tips would be really appreciated! Thanks! <3


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